I have been working for the past year at Philip Beesley Architect who is working in association with Pucher Siefert. The main project I have been working on is the adaptive reuse of the old Canada Bread Factory in Liberty Village into commercial space. It has been a great project to sink my teeth into as an intern architect. The project was already under construction when I started, but because it is following a design-build process, we are working on design changes as the construction progresses. I am fortunate that the project is so close by and that I get to go to site every week or two to see the progress and watch the things that I helped draw get built! The building has a lot of historic character that includes large swaths of horizontal spaces with beautiful timber ceilings and beams, brick walls with arched doorways and windows, and light steel trusses. One major move we did in the design for reuse was to create an interior double-height avenue space that cuts through the building, offering a place that the employees and the public passing through can enjoy. To create this space, a new structure and roof were created that extend from the old structure. One of my favourite moments of construction was when the old roof was removed as soon as the new structure and roof had been installed a level above it. In a day the space was completely transformed and looks very close to what we envisioned! Check out some of the photos that I took during construction that show the evolution of the avenue.
Installing the new structure for the Avenue
The new roof is on!
The old roof is gone!
Installing the garage doors
Skylights installed!
Life Section 